Network interface devices provide limited access by a subscriber or customer for testing by the subscriber of the subscriber premises wiring, at a telephone junction box where the subscriber premises wiring is connected to circuits of the telephone service provider. Such junction boxes are also fully accessible to service personnel of the telephone company after installation. One such network interface device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,209 for a plurality of subscribers, wherein an enclosure includes a primary lid extending over the entire enclosure and securable by service personnel, and a secondary lid over the subscriber-accessible portion of the enclosure securable by the subscribers; such enclosures commonly provide access to the subscriber-accessible portion by service personnel but the subscriber-accessible portion remains secured against any unauthorized person. Individual modules within the subscriber-accessible portion are disclosed to include individual security covers such that each subscriber module is secured against access by the other subscribers.
The individual subscriber module includes a test port or jack electrically connected to both the premises wiring and the subscriber-dedicated circuits of the telephone service provider, such as wires extending to a distribution cable, enabling the subscriber to remove the port cover and insert the plug of a telephone or other test device to discover the location of a fault disrupting the subscriber's service. Successful connection of the telephone or test device indicates that the fault lies in the premises wiring and thus is the responsibility of the subscriber, whereas an unsuccessful connection of the telephone or test device indicates that the fault lies in the circuits of the telephone service provider. The performance of such testing by the subscriber enables the subscriber to first determine the location of the fault prior to arranging with the telephone company for a service call, thus saving the subscriber the expense of a telephone company service call when the fault lies in the premises wiring.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,920 is disclosed a subscriber module having a test port or jack in which pairs of contacts are interconnected by a dedicated plug inserted thereinto to complete circuits between the telephone cable and the premises wiring for regular inservice use. When the dedicated plug is removed during an investigation of a fault, another plug joined to a telephone device is insertable by the subscriber to again complete the circuits to determine the presence or absence of a fault in the telephone company wiring. The dedicated plug of the module is adapted to seal the jack cavity when in position, protecting the contacts exposed in the jack, and is joined to the module by a lanyard when removed from the jack. Conductors of the premise wiring are easily terminable by insulation displacement techniques to terminals using a stuffer cap, with the terminals connected to first contacts of the jack contact pairs by circuit board traces, while second contacts of the pairs are connected by other board traces to conductors connected to the distribution cable.
A problem exists with each of these subscriber modules in that the modules are insertable into the network interface device such that the module resides in a subscriber accessible section of such a network interface device. A pair of wires extends from the subscriber module through a divider or a wall into the service provider section of the network interface device for connection to protection circuits and service cables. The protection circuits are typically provided in a separate device mountable inside the service provider section. Therefore, two devices, a subscriber network interface module and a protection device, are necessary in order to complete the circuit between the service provider section and the subscriber section of the network interface device.